Dwight White

Dwight White

Position(s) Defensive end Jersey #(s) 78
Born	July 30, 1949(1949-07-30) Hampton, Virginia
Died	June 6, 2008(2008-06-06) (aged 58) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Career information
Year(s)	1971–1980
NFL Draft	1971 / Round: 4 / Pick: 104
College	East Texas State
Professional teams
Pittsburgh Steelers (1971–1980)
Career stats
Sacks	46
Interceptions	4
Games	126
Stats at NFL.com
Career highlights and awards
2× Pro Bowl selection (1972, 1973) 4× Super Bowl champion (IX, X, XIII, XIV)

Dwight Lynn White (July 30, 1949–June 6, 2008) was an American football defensive end who played for ten seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League (NFL)^[1] and was a member of the famed Steel Curtain defense.^[2]

Life and career

Born in Hampton, Virginia, White graduated from James Madison High School in Dallas, Texas and played college football at East Texas State University (since renamed Texas A&M University–Commerce).^[3]

Pittsburgh Steelers

Nicknamed "Mad Dog", because of his intensity,^[4] White became a two-time Pro Bowl defensive end. White spent much of the week leading up to Super Bowl IX in a hospital, suffering from pneumonia; he lost 20 pounds and was not expected to play in the game. However, he did play,^[5] and accounted for the only scoring in the first half when he sacked Fran Tarkenton in the end zone for a safety — the first points in Steelers' history in a championship game.^[6] The Steelers defeated the Minnesota Vikings 16–6.

White finished his career with 46 quarterback sacks,^[7] however sacks were not an official defensive stat until 1982.^[8]

Steelers owner Dan Rooney called White "one of the greatest players to ever wear a Steelers uniform"^[2] and he was named to the Steelers All-Time team in 1982 and again in 2007. He retired after the 1980 season and went on to become a stock broker.

Death

Dwight White died of complications that arose from an earlier surgery.^[9] A blood clot in his lung, the complication from back surgery, is the suspected cause of death.^[5] On February 1, 2010, his family filed a wrongful death suit against the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and three doctors, claiming that his death had been caused by medical negligence.^[10]

Notes

1. ^ The Tribune-Review (2008-06-06). "Steelers' Dwight White dead at 58". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/steelers/s_571425.html. Retrieved 2008-06-07. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "Dwight White". Steelers.com. 2008-06-06. http://news.steelers.com/article/90641/. Retrieved 2008-06-06. 
3. ^ "Dwight White Bio". Steelers.com. http://news.steelers.com/article/90641/. Retrieved 2008-06-06. 
4. ^ Associated Press (2008-06-07). "Dwight White, 58, Mad Dog of Vaunted Steel Curtain, Is Dead". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/07/sports/football/07white.html?_r=1&oref=slogin. Retrieved 2008-06-07. 
5. ^ ^{a b} Dulac, Gerry (2008-06-07). "Steel Curtain's 'Mad Dog' dies". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08159/888205-66.stm?cmpid=sports.xml. Retrieved 2008-06-07. 
6. ^ "Pittsburgh fixes error in Super Bowl proclamation". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. February 10, 2009. http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/s_611074.html. Retrieved 23 March 2010. 
7. ^ "Steelers Records". http://news.steelers.com/MediaContent/2006/08/10/06/Steelers_Records_67312.pdf. Retrieved 23 March 2010. 
8. ^ "History Of The Sack Statistic". Packers.com. August 13, 2009. http://www.packers.com/history/fast_facts/history_of_the_sack_statistic/. Retrieved 23 March 2010. ^{[dead link]}
9. ^ "Former Steeler Dwight White dies". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 2008-06-06. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08158/887963-100.stm. Retrieved 2008-06-06. 
10. ^ Nereim, Vivian (2010-02-01). "Lawsuit filed in former Steeler player's death". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10032/1032717-100.stm. Retrieved 2010-02-01. 

• The Super Bowl An Official Retrospective, Ballantine Books, 2005.

External links

• Stats from Pro Football Reference

Persondata
Name	White, Dwight
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1949-07-30
Place of birth
Date of death	2008-06-06
Place of death